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Ecuador 2013 Crude Output Rises 4% on Year to 526,000 Barrels a Day

By Mercedes Alvaro QUITO–Ecuador’s average oil output rose 4% to 526,000 barrels a day last year, from 504,000 barrels a day the same period a year before, the central bank said. Petroecuador, Petroamazonas and Rio Napo, the three state-run oil companies, accounted for 75% of Ecuador’s crude oil production in the period. The country’s total oil production last year was 192 million barrels. Ecuador’s crude-oil output in December increased about 9% from the one year earlier to an average of 548,000 barrels per day. Oil is Ecuador’s main export and the government’s main revenue earner. According to official projections, Ecuador could produce about 741,000 barrels of crude oil per day by 2019. Reaching this goal will require investments of about $5.5 billion per year over the next five years. Last August, President Rafael Correa announced that his government will go ahead with the development of the Ishpingo-Tambococha-Tiputini oil field, […]

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Exxon Says Its Oil And Gas Reserves Rose Slightly In 2013

More Feb 21 (Reuters) – Exxon Mobil Corp, the world’s largest publicly traded oil company, said on Friday its crude oil and natural gas reserves rose slightly in 2013, lifted by projects in U.S. shale fields and Abu Dhabi. Proved reserve additions of 1.6 billion barrels oil equivalent from places like the Permian Basin inTexas and the Bakken Shale in North Dakota helped Exxon replace 103 percent of its 2013 output, theIrving, Texas company said in a statement. In 2012, Exxon’s reserve replacement ratio, a key measure of growth for investors, was 115 percent. At year end, Exxon’s proved reserves totaled 25.2 billion oil-equivalent barrels. The reserves were 53 percent liquids, which typically bring higher profits. Shares of Exxon fell 9 cents to $95.28 in morning trading on the New York Stock Exchange. Copyright 2014 Thomson Reuters. Click for Restrictions. More

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Gold Rush Ghost Town Bodes Ill for California Power Flow: Energy

An unwelcome sign for electricity users is emerging from the waters of Folsom Lake: the remnants of a Gold Rush mining town submerged for almost 60 years has resurfaced amid California ’s record dry spell. Just west of the stone ruins, Folsom Power plant is silent, its six-story-high columns without enough water to propel their turbines. It’s one of dozens of hydroelectric stations shut or running at reduced rates because of the worst drought in the state’s history. “Seeing this town is intriguing and at the same time so scary,” said Heidi Anderson, a 55-year-old registered nurse who drove from Sacramento to explore the crumbling remnants of the 19th century town known as Mormon Island. “That power plant there obviously isn’t making power because there isn’t any water. Where has it all gone? What’s happening?” California had the least rain and snow water in data going back to 1895 […]

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U.S. Rig Count Advances to 1,771, Baker Hughes Says

Rigs targeting oil and natural gas in the U.S. increased by seven this week to 1,771, according to Baker Hughes Inc. (BHI) Oil rigs rose by two to 1,425, data posted on the company’s website show. The gas count advanced five to 342, the Houston-based field services company said. The total rig count rebounded after storms that poured rain, snow and ice across the eastern half of the U.S. slowed oil- and gas-drilling operations in major basins. “Operations in our completion and production services segment either slowed dramatically or ceased altogether in the extreme cold,” Tony Petrello, chief executive officer of Nabors Industries Ltd. (NBR) , the world’s largest land-rig contractor, said in a conference call with analysts Feb. 19. U.S. oil output climbed for a second straight week in the seven days ended Feb. 14, adding 16,000 barrels a day, or 0.2 percent, to 8.15 million, data compiled […]

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American Petroleum Institute: U.S. crude oil imports at longtime low

The American Petroleum Institute said the United States imported less crude oil in January than at any time since the late 1990s. The API said crude oil imports of 7.5 million barrels per day marked a 5.2 percent decline year-on-year and the lowest level in 17 years. The organization attributed the decline to higher domestic crude oil production. "Domestic crude oil production remains strong," API Chief Economist John Felmy said in a statement Thursday. The API said January crude oil production of approximately 9.1 million bpd was the highest for any January since 1988. The amount of crude oil in the nation’s inventory last month was 361.1 million barrels, a 4.4 percent drop from January 2013. Demand for gasoline increased 1.1 percent in January when compared with last year but was down 5.2 percent from December. Felmy said the extreme winter weather this season […]

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Rail delivery of oil up 7.9 percent from 2013, AAR says

U.S. rail delivery of petroleum and petroleum products was up 7.9 percent last week from the same period in 2013, the American Association of Railroads said. The AAR said 14,234 carloads of petroleum and petroleum products, or about 9.9 million barrels of oil, were delivered on the rail system for the week ending Feb. 15, up from the same time last year and nearly 3.8 percent more than the preceding week. Since Jan. 1, 99,973 carloads, or about 69 million barrels of oil, were delivered on the U.S. rail system, an 8.6 percent increase from the same period last year, the AAR said Thursday. Industry officials say the increase in U.S. crude oil production is outstripping the existing pipeline capacity, forcing some energy companies to turn to rail as an alternate transit option. U.S. Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz told the Capital New York news […]

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U.S., Railroads Agree to New Oil-Transport Measures

Federal regulators and the rail industry said Friday they agreed to new voluntary measures aimed at making it safer to ship crude oil by rail, including increased track inspections and lower speed limits in some urban areas. The agreement comes a little more than a month after federal regulators and the rail and petroleum industries met to discuss enhancing safety measures after several recent accidents involving tank cars containing crude—including a fiery derailment in Quebec last July that killed 47 people. "Safety is our top priority, and we have a shared responsibility to make sure crude oil is transported safely from origin to destination," U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx said in a statement. Most of the new rules, scheduled to be in place by July 1, hammered out by the Transportation Department and the Association of American Railroads apply to trains with at least 20 carloads of crude. "We […]

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California’s drought heightens fear of fire season

There is no relief in sight from the historic drought ravaging every corner of California, and where there’s drought, there’s fire. In the thick of winter and normally wet months, 545 fires have broken out so far this year, burning 1,142 acres. That is a staggering 330 percent increase in fires over the same Jan. 1 to Feb. 15 period last year and a 150 percent jump in burned acreage. “This is unprecedented,” said Capt. Michael Mohler of the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. Current conditions are as severe as during the hottest summer months, and Cal Fire is bracing for the worst. It has already brought in 125 additional firefighters, who normally come on board when fire season starts in late May in the North and in June in Southern California. Facilities where firefighting aircraft are based usually close in the winter. Not this […]

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US railroads, DOT agree on voluntary crude-by-rail safety steps

US railroads on Friday announced several voluntary steps they will take to boost crude-by-rail safety, including lower speed limits in urban areas and the use of rail traffic routing technology, under an agreement reached with the Department of Transportation. The Association of American Railroads said that beginning July 1 trains with 20 or more tank cars carrying crude that include at least one older DOT-111 car will travel no faster than 40 mph in 46 federally designated high-threat urban areas. The industry currently voluntarily restricts speeds of trains with 20 or more carloads of hazardous materials, including crude oil, to 50 mph. Railroads will also begin using the Rail Corridor Risk Management System to determine the safest routes for trains with 20 or more cars of crude. RCRMS, developed with the US Homeland Security Department and other federal agencies, is currently used for the […]

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US Government Issues Loans for the First Nuclear Reactors in 30 Years

US Government Issues Loans for the First Nuclear Reactors in 30 Years Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz will travel to Waynesboro, Georgia on Thursday to issue approximately $6.5 billion in loan guarantees for two new nuclear reactors at the Alvin W. Vogtle Electric Generating Plant . The reactors will be the first new nuclear facilities constructed in the U.S. in about three decades. The terms of the loan agreement were tentatively offered to Southern Company in 2010, but low natural gas prices, the Fukushima nuclear meltdown and a lack of a federal carbon policy have hampered nuclear power. The loan guarantee was also sidelined by Solyndra’s bankruptcy , which rattled the DOE loan program.  Since becoming the head of the U.S. Department of Energy, Moniz has repeatedly talked about  small modular reactors , pointing to their benefits in terms of cost and security. Last year, the DOE issued about $250 […]

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